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Call from HRW; ICC Prosecutor called SC to force Sudan to cooperate with the Court; Al-Bashir said his government wants 'to avoid war'; recently-released report by ENOUGH reveals existence of evidence against senior Sudanese officials

27 Nov 2007

Dear all,

Please find below information on recent developments related to the International Criminal Court's investigation in Darfur, Sudan.

This digest includes information about the call from Human Rights Watch on the EU to impose sanctions to Sudan; after a meeting with the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, ICC Prosecutor called the Security Council to force Sudan to cooperate with the Court; an article reporting that Sudanese President Al-Bashir said that his governments wants ‘to avoid war’ but it is ‘ready for it’; a recently-released report by ENOUGH reveals existence of evidence against senior Sudanese officials and information on a new publication on Sudan.

Please take note of the Coalition's policy on situations before the ICC (below), which explicitly states that the CICC will not take a position on potential and current situations before the Court or situations under analysis. The Coalition, however, will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC.

Regards,

Mariana Rodriguez Pareja
CICC Communications
[email protected]

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I. HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH URGED EU TO SANCTION KHARTOUM

“Sudan: Rights Group urges EU to impose sanctions on Khartoum,” IPS - Inter Press Service, 14 Nov 2007 http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-7186619/SUDAN-RIGHTS-GROUP-URGES-EU.html

“The International Criminal Court issued a warrant in April for the arrest of Ahmed Haroun, Sudan's minister for humanitarian affairs. Instead of facing trial, however, Haroun was recently appointed as chairman of a committee monitoring security in Sudan.
Haroun -- who stands accused of carrying out widespread killings with the backing of the Khartoum government -- is now responsible for monitoring a variety of areas, including the western province of Darfur. As part of his new responsibilities, he can assess complaints of human rights abuses in Darfur.

Lotte Leicht, the Brussels director for Human Rights Watch, is urging European Union foreign ministers -- who are scheduled to meet Nov. 19-20 -- to formally warn Sudan that they will introduce sanctions against its government if it continues to ignore the arrest warrant against Haroun….”


II. MORENO OCAMPO URGED SECURITY COUNCIL TO FORCE SUDAN TO COOPERATE AFTER MEETING WITH EGYPTIAN MFA


i. “ICC prosecutor says UN Security Council must force Sudan to cooperate,” Sudan Tribune, 19 Nov 2007
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article24799

“The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) said that he wants the UN Security Council (UNSC) to force Sudan into cooperating with the world court.
Luis Moreno-Ocampo told reporters in Cairo after meeting with Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul-Gheit that he is not seeking to have the UNSC impose sanctions on Sudan.

The judges of the ICC issued their first arrest warrants for suspects accused of war crimes in Sudan’s Darfur region in early May.

….. The warrants were issued for Ahmed Haroun, state minister for humanitarian affairs, and militia commander Ali Kushayb. Sudan has so far rejected handing over the two suspects.

Haroun has retained his position as a minister and was recently appointed as head of a committee investigating human rights complaints in Darfur, a move criticized by human right groups.

‘Justice was not mentioned in the UNSG subsequent reports on Darfur where the UN secretariat developed a three prong approach with a humanitarian, political and security components only’ Ocampo said in prepared remarks to the 11th diplomatic briefing at the ICC headquarters in the Hague….”

ii. “Egypt Foreign Minister, ICC Chief Tackle Latest Developments, Humanitarian Coniditions in Darfur,” InfoProd, 20 Nov 2007 http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/Default.htm

“Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit received on 18/11/2007 International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo, who is in charge of investigating crimes of human rights violations in Darfur. The Spokesman for the Foreign Ministry stated that the meeting tackled the stance towards following up the cases of human rights violation and war crimes in Darfur, the international and regional efforts for activating the peace process and starting negotiations between the Sudanese Government and the Darfurian rebel movements, in addition to the situation on ground in Darfur, including the humanitarian conditions inside and outside the displaced camps. The Spokesman outlined that, during the meeting, Foreign Minister Abul-Gheit affirmed the importance of creating the appropriate atmosphere for the success of the upcoming negotiations between the disputing parties in Darfur, and accelerating the deployment of the hybrid peacekeeping forces to support stability, peacekeeping and maintaining security in the province. Abul-Gheit also asserted the importance of providing the proper atmosphere for delivering humanitarian aids to those who need them, and praised the Sudanese government's declaration and commitment to unilateral ceasefire.…”


II. PREZ AL BASHIR READIES FOR WAR

i. “Sudan's leader readies for war, lashes west,” International Herald Tribune, 19 Nov 2007 http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/17/africa/AF-GEN-Sudan-President.php

“Sudan's Government wants to avoid war but is ready for it, President Omar al-Bashir has warned during a rare show of public support for a paramilitary force accused of atrocities in the western Sudanese region of Darfur.

‘We will not seek war, but if imposed on us we are ready,' Mr al-Bashir told a rally to mark the 18th anniversary of the Popular Defence Forces, a militia he created to fight southern rebels and which has since been unleashed on Darfur.

…. He accused Western powers backing a 26,000-strong UN and African Union force due in Darfur in January of lying about their motives to end four years of bloodshed.

‘Those Americans, those British, and those Europeans are not keen about the people of Darfur, or the people of southern Sudan or the Sudanese people,’ he said.

The President said his Government would not seek to spark a new war with the southerners, but warned that those who want to bring war to the north ‘should bear the consequences’.

…. Observers say the Janjaweed and PDF units are often one and the same. The Government denies this, but the International Criminal Court in The Hague has issued warrants against a Janjaweed chief and a minister on charges of crimes against humanity and war crimes….”

III. NEW ENOUGH PROJECT ON DARFUR CRIMES REVEALS EXISTENCE OF EVIDENCE AGAINST SENIOR SUDANESE OFFICIALS


“US withholding info on Darfur crimes to protect IDP camps: report,” Sudan Tribune, 26 Nov 2007
http://www.sudantribune.com/spip.php?article24901

“The US administration has compiled extensive evidence against senior Sudanese officials implicating them in the Darfur war crimes according to a report released by ‘ENOUGH’ group last week.

The report named ‘A Strategy for Success in Sirte’ was prepared by Colin Thomas-Jensen, Africa Advocacy and Research Manager at the International Crisis Group and John Prendergast, director of African affairs for the National Security Council during the Clinton administration.

‘U.S. intelligence services are closely monitoring communications within Sudan, listening to conversations between Sudanese officials and others that could implicate them in crimes committed in Darfur’ according to the report.

…. ENOUGH, a joint project of Crisis Group and the Center for American Progress, with the aim of helping to bring an end to the crimes against humanity being perpetrated in Darfur, northern Uganda and eastern Congo, and to prevent future mass atrocities.

The UN Security Council referred the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court (ICC) in March 2005. The US bent down to pressure and abstained from voting after fierce resistance.

…. The warrants were issued for Ahmed Haroun, state minister for humanitarian affairs, and militia commander Ali Kushayb. Sudan has so far rejected handing over the two suspects.

The US official said that the Bush Administration has decided not to hand over the evidence to the ICC saying that ‘the prospect of indictment and arrest could force the regime into ‘survival mode’ and cause it to attack the camps for displaced persons in Darfur’.

….. The report called on the US administration and other governments to assist the ICC in its investigations….”


IV. NEW PUBLICATION ON SUDAN

“Sudan; Investigating Genocide,” All Africa, 22 Nov 2007 http://allafrica.com/stories/200711220001.html

“ […]The actual process of making the determination that the situation in Darfur constituted genocide, once the data came back from the field, is addressed in several different chapters, including the possible implications arising from the Genocide Convention and the possible (and eventual) referral to the International Criminal Court. However, the decision process still ends up seeming opaque. Although we have information from interviews with a couple of the main players, the reader ends up wanting more--more depth, more breadth in terms of sources of information, and more of a sense of the politics. This may be a function of the fact that this is essentially an instant review of the process, rather than a more in-depth, scholarly treatment which may only be possible further down the road. However, this becomes a theme throughout the book--the politics and motivations of the players involved are given somewhat short shrift as opposed to the description of what happened. There is also discussion of the findings of the International Commission of Inquiry, which was set up as a result of the U.S. determination and referral to the Security Council, which found war crimes and crimes against humanity but not genocide.

Following this, a few chapters analyze the work of the project and the implications. Although they make some good points, several of them are short and end up being more like opinion pieces than analytical pieces.

The final--and most important--issue addressed is what happened after the determination….”



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CICC's policy on the referral and prosecution of situations before the ICC:
The Coalition for the ICC is not an organ of the Court. The CICC is an independent NGO movement dedicated to the establishment of the International Criminal Court as a fair, effective, and independent international organization.
The Coalition will continue to provide the most up-to-date information about the ICC and to help coordinate global action to effectively implement the Rome Statute of the ICC. The Coalition will also endeavor to respond to basic queries and to raise awareness about the ICC's trigger mechanisms and procedures, as they develop. The Coalition as a whole, and its secretariat, do not endorse or promote specific investigations or prosecutions or take a position on situations (potential and current), or situations under analysis before the ICC. However, individual CICC members may endorse referrals, provide legal and other support on investigations, or develop partnerships with local and other organizations in the course of their efforts.

Communications to the ICC can be sent to:
ICC
P.O. Box 19519
2500 CM The Hague
The Netherlands